Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad v. Ford Collieries Co.

Citations

• 273 Pa. 166
• 116 A. 802
• 1922 Pa. LEXIS 543

Syllabus

<p>Carriers — Railroads—Demurrage.</p> <p>1. Ordinarily a carrier cannot recover demurrage until he has fully complied with the contract of carriage.</p> <p>Practice, C. P. — Pleading—Penalty—Evidence—Statement of claim — Affidavit of defense.</p> <p>2. Where a plaintiff seeks to recover a penalty he must set forth in his statement of claim, as well as prove, all the circumstances which are alleged to justify its imposition.</p> <p>3. Averments of the statement not denied by the affidavit and offered in evidence at the trial, will be treated as conclusively admitted.</p> <p>4. Where it is meant to prove an admission in an affidavit of defense, it alone should be offered in evidence, stating this is done for the particular purpose desired to be proved.</p> <p>Carriers — Railroads—Damage—Storage of cars — Duty of carrier — Interstate commerce.</p> <p>5. Where freight is consigned to a particular point for transshipment, it is the duty of the consignee to provide a means for unloading and carrying it away; if he does not do this, the carrier is not obliged to hold the cars at that point, but may place them in a storage yard convenient thereto, if legally authorized so to do.</p> <p>6. This it may do without first carrying them to the trans-shipping point, if prepared to prove the consignee was not ready to receive and remove the freight.</p> <p>7. Enacted rules should be construed in the light of the facts and circumstances calling for their passage.</p> <p>8. Where the Interstate Commerce Commission has approved a rule relating to an administrative practice of a carrier engaged in interstate commerce, it is not necessary to have it reapproved in order to enable the carrier to exercise the rights given thereby.</p> <p>Practice, G. P. — Trial by court — Passing on evidence — Exceptions.</p> <p>9. Where evidence has been offered and objected to, and the decision thereof has been reserved until the end of the case, the trial judge must dispose of the offer and objection i